


More Than Enough

by kaleinope



Series: Blue is the Loveliest Color [1]
Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Family Fluff, Gen, M/M, Malec, Malec Fluff, Oneshot, but so worth it, raising a baby is not easy, so many feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-30 04:24:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6408685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaleinope/pseuds/kaleinope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alec could handle a lot of things. He could jump across the roofs of high-rise buildings without breaking a sweat. He could dispatch a raum demon with just about any weapon, even if said weapon was a blunt stick. He could handle Jace chasing after dragon demons and he could handle Izzy in her worst of moods.<br/>What he was not prepared to handle, however, was a baby Warlock that was teething.</p>
            </blockquote>





	More Than Enough

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, I just couldn't help myself- Magnus and Alec are the cutest dads ever.  
> So here's some shameless fluff, featuring our favorite little blueberry

Alec could handle a lot of things. He could jump across the roofs of high-rise buildings without breaking a sweat. He could dispatch a raum demon with just about any weapon, even if said weapon was a blunt stick. He could handle Jace chasing after dragon demons and he could handle Izzy in her worst of moods.

What he was not prepared to handle, however, was a baby Warlock that was teething.

Honestly, it shouldn't have been too bad. And honestly, it wasn't all that different from how a regular baby would act (not that Alec would really know, from any kind of experience)- except, he was fairly sure mundane babies didn't set the nearest thing alight when they got frustrated. It was also incredibly, _extremely_ difficult to try teach your teething warlock son to walk (Alec had to teach him a little bit every day- Maryse was insisting).

“Max,” Alec said gently, as he extinguished his son's blankey for the fifth time that day. “It's okay.”

Max wrinkled his little blue nose and made an unhappy murmuring noise; he'd fallen onto his behind too many times for one day, and was clearly tired of attempting whatever his insistent father was trying to teach him to do. Still, Alec felt the warmth of pride in his chest: Max could keep himself upright for two whole steps- without support- before falling, and that was an improvement from the day before.

Max waved his pudgy hands towards his dad, reaching for his blanket; Alec handed the damp cloth over. Max didn't seem bothered by the scorch marks on his blankey, or the fact that it had recently been doused in water. He hugged it to his chest with one arm and pulled himself to his feet, gripping the low coffee table with his free hand. He was reaching for a scented candle, which Alec subtly moved out of his reach. The candle had enough bite marks in it, already.

“He's a grumpy little man, isn't he?” Alec lifted his head at the sound of his parabatai's musing voice. Jace was sprawled out on the couch, having made himself comfortable hours prior. He'd been watching Alec struggle with his extremely disgruntled son (with an amused sort of air) ever since.

“He's actually a little better today,” Alec said. He pressed the back of his hand to Max's forehead. “the fever's gone down.”

“The fire thing, though. That's new?”

“Yeah, well, normally he just makes these sort of...little sparks, when he's unhappy.” Alec pulled his hand back, running it over his own face. “And now the sparks seem to be setting stuff on fire.”

“You look tired.” Jace said, shifting forward on the couch and resting his elbows on his knees. “You need to get some sleep.”

Alec snorted. “No, _really_? The thought never occurred to me.” he sighed and ran a gentle hand through his son's dark curls, who didn't even glance up from the coaster he was biting into. Jace leaned over and swept Max into his arms, bouncing the baby on his lap.

“Today you're walking, tomorrow you'll be kicking demon butt with us.” Jace told him seriously. “How about it, huh?” Max gurgled, a happy sort of sound (although, this might have been because he finally had something to sink his teeth into). “You got up to two steps today- well done, buddy.”

Alec smiled, tiredly. “Do you think I'm doing something wrong?”

“What?”

“Do you think I'm teaching him, like, the wrong way?” Alec asked, voicing his worries. “He's thirteen months now, and- according to Mom- he should be walking-”

“Alec, relax.” Jace said. “He'll walk when he wants to walk. For now, focus on the teething. Take on one thing at a time, you know?”

He hadn't expected such sage advice from his brother, who was a noob when it came to babies- but, there it was. Raising a baby wasn't easy, and it tended to get a little overwhelming; there were so many things Alec had to remember, like buying the right diapers and the right formula and sleeping schedules and teaching Max how to talk (he knew three words, total) and walk, and-

he forgot to just slow down, sometimes.

“Let's see this new tooth, huh?” Jace tickled Max, who wriggled and laughed. Jace peered into his open mouth curiously. “It's barely there!” he complained.

“Jace, stop being a weirdo and give me my baby.” Magnus had just entered the lounge (having apparently finished up with his client- a very abrasive werewolf, if Alec recalled correctly), and had a shaped eyebrow raised at the scene he'd walked in on.

“I'm looking for the tooth.” Jace explained, and Magnus swept across the room to take Max from his arms. Alec leaned back, his palms pressed into the shag carpet, and smiled up at Magnus.

“How is my little blueberry?” Magnus passed a hand over his son's forehead, mimicking Alec's action from earlier. Max dropped the coaster to the floor, apparently discontent with it, and bit down into his blankey instead. Magnus's kohl-lined eyes widened. “And what on _earth_ happened to your blanket?”

“He may have set fire to it...several times.” Alec said.

“Well, that's new.” Magnus's frown was concerned. “But...at least the fever's gone down.”

“That's what I said.”

Magnus and Alec had gotten used to sporadic magical acts from Max- not much surprised them, anymore. A month ago, Max had magicked everything in his room a bright blue color. Just the other night, he'd made all his bath toys fly around the bathroom (Alec would never have thought a rubber duck could be considered a dangerous projectile- but when a plastic toy whizzes straight into the side of your head, it tends to hurt). It was normal, Magnus always assured, and nothing bad could possibly come from it. They hoped. They'd just have to make sure Max didn't burn down the apartment, now, but that couldn't be _too_ difficult.

“Oh,” Jace snapped his fingers, as if he'd just remembered something. “Simon wanted me to ask you guys a question.”

Magnus raised an eyebrow again. “Yes?”

“Can Max change color, like a chameleon?”

“Why,” Alec said slowly. “why would he want to know something like that?”  
Jace shrugged. “He said it might be cool if he could.”

“Yeah, okay, thanks for visiting, Jace.” Alec lifted one hand and gestured towards the front door.

“You're kicking me out?”

“Yeah. It's naptime.” Alec rolled his neck back, working out a kink. “For all of us. Goodbye.”

His parabatai left- not without complaining, of course (“You should be more grateful that I grace you with my presence like this”, he'd grumbled)- and once he'd shut the door behind him, Alec exhaled loudly. It came out as a sort of scoff.  
“Like a chameleon. _Honestly._ ”

“Hm,” Magnus hummed, not really paying attention. He was intent on Max, who was trying to chew on the many rings on his father's fingers, all at once.

“You're going to let him do that?” Alec blinked as their son bit into a ring that had a large onyx stone set into it. Magnus had gotten that ring in India (or was it France? Alec knew it was _one_ of the places they'd travelled to), and was normally fairly protective of his jewellery. However, Magnus just shrugged listlessly.

“I'm too tired to stop him, and it makes him happy.” Magnus gazed down at Alec, his expression full of hope. “Is it _really_ naptime?”

“Oh, I don't joke about naptime.”

* * *

 

“Mm, check this out, Max.” Alec twisted the lid off the small jar of baby food, glancing at the label. “Carrots and peas.”

“Yum.” Magnus said dryly as he opened the fridge and peered into it. “ _Please_ tell me _our_ dinner's a little more promising than that.”

“Don't listen to papa,” Alec scooped up some orange purée, offered the spoon to Max. “this is yummy, I promise.” Magnus scoffed, but his smile was fond as he watched Alec feed their son (or, try to). Unfortunately, Max was being even fussier than usual. He made a face and banged his hands against the table of his high chair, wriggling in his seat.

“No!” he said (out of Max's three word repertoire, this one was his favorite), and turned his face into his shoulder to avoid the spoon.

Alec dropped the spoon back into the jar with a sigh, giving up. “He keeps refusing to eat. I think his gums are too swollen.”

“Oh,” Magnus made a concerned cooing noise. He lifted Max from the high chair, holding him carefully. “If I dipped your pacifier in some whiskey, would that help?”

Alec shook his head. “No- no, the web says we should just rub something cold over his gums.”

Magnus rolled his eyes. “What else does the web have to say?”

“That his symptoms should be over in about four days.”

“Oh, well, that's good.” Magnus conjured up a bottle of formula milk for Max, who was more than happy about this. “There we go. Better than mushy carrots.”

Alec made an irritated sound. “Stop magicking the bottles.”

“Sorry, darling.” he didn't sound all that sorry. Magnus settled Max back into his high chair- Max barely noticed, as he was all too intent on his bottle. Magnus moved over to where Alec was seated and draped himself over his boyfriend, making himself comfortable in his lap. Alec loosely wrapped an arm around Magnus's waist.

“Do you wonder, sometimes,” Alec murmured, “if we're doing things right?”

“All the time.” Magnus sighed. “But we can't fret over it too much.” he tapped Alec's chin, making him look up. Their eyes met, and Magnus smiled. “There's no one 'right way', to anything. All parents make mistakes. And I think we're doing splendidly, all things considered.”

Alec's lips twitched into a soft smile. “Yeah?”

Magnus's response was to press a kiss against Alec's lips- soft, and lingering.

“By the way,” Alec said, when their lips parted. “Max burnt one of your shirts, earlier today.”

“This parenthood thing is _not_ kind to my wardrobe, is it?”

* * *

 

A fretful wail broke through the still night; Alec groaned and dragged himself from the comfort of their bed (it _was_ his turn). Magnus buried his head under the mound of blankets, grumbling about something. Alec followed the sound of Max's crying into the room next to his and Magnus's (it had once been a guest bedroom, but it was now very clearly a nursery of sorts. Alec had to commend Magnus's commitment to the redecorating- there were even painted clouds on the ceiling). He reached into the crib, carefully cradling his son in his arms.

“Shh, no,” he murmured, holding Max against his chest. “don't cry. Daddy's here.”

The first time Max had ever said the word 'dada', Alec had almost shed a tear or two. He was a _father_ \- it was surreal, and wonderfully so. It was like a magic, in itself.

His son wiped his own tears against Alec's worn sweater, his cries quieting into the occasional sniffle. Little blue sparks were coming from the fists curled against Alec's chest.

“It's okay.” Alec kept his voice soft, and pressed a kiss into Max's dark blue curls. He bounced the baby in his arms and moved over to the window; he knew the sight of the moon through the curtains sometimes comforted Max. If Alec was being entirely honest, it comforted him, too.

“I'm sorry this one little tooth is causing you so much trouble,” he said to his son. “but it'll be over soon. And until then, papa and I are more than happy to put out your fires and dry your tears.”

Max's eyelids were starting to droop. Alec kept up his gentle rocking, hoping to lull his son to sleep.

“We'll always be there, okay?” Alec murmured, gazing at Max's peaceful, blue face. “Even when I'm...not, anymore,” Alec swallowed against a lump in his throat. “I'll still always be there.

“We will _always_ love you, Max.”

**Author's Note:**

> Because _they_ could love him. Forever.
> 
> Check me out on my tumblr, if you'd like: @kaleinope  
> <3


End file.
